“Boredom doesn’t exist when you are forever looking at the world with the desire and intention to appreciate and notice,” Radhi Devlukia.  Radhi was talking about appreciating even the smallest moments because of how it helps us slow down and appreciate what is and create presence.  With the limitless distraction available today and the heightened sense of emotional entitlement, it’s easy to look past what is good and beautiful in the world thinking we need to change it to make it better—we are always looking to make things better.  It’s easy to look at what we think we lack as if the absence is somehow greater than the presence, like the desire is stronger than the creation. We have an expectation that the world is here to entertain us on some level or to do our bidding—we have forgotten that we are part of the natural world and we are gifted the ability to work WITH the world, not force it.  What we see and how we interpret it is a reflection of our perception and we can train our perception to see things in a specific way.  We can mourn what isn’t there or we can celebrate what is.  We can lament the losses or we can take in the millions of small wonders around us at any given time. 

With the speed thing are created and shared in this world, the culture of mass marketing and shoving ideas and images down people’s throats everywhere they turn, we have a tendency to think life is all about how fast we can do it and how much we can fit in.  We don’t care about how we are living as long as we feel like we are living the MOST.  We have forgotten what life is in some ways.  There is life all around us, life within us, and when we stop to notice and really take it in, suddenly we are alive in a way that puts meaning into life—we see the meat of what is really important.  This society tends to have an expectation that the things around us give us meaning.  Sure, there are some things that do (like a letter written by a loved one or our grandmother’s wedding ring, etc.).  But the things around us are tools to bring our purpose to life—things to help us fulfill our greater reason for being.  We could literally do nothing on this planet in the way of “making it better” and still survive.  The Earth would still provide food, we could still find shelter.  We don’t have to build and cultivate and take from the Earth as we do—Sure the advancements we have made certainly make things easier and even more efficient, but no one will die for lack of internet or a TV—there are other ways to communicate/connect.  The resources we need are readily available and our job is to figure out how to share them.  We don’t have to wield power, we can work with it. So the focus should be gratitude for those gifts.

Radhi’s quote caught me because I’ve been thinking about slowing down a LOT lately.  I struggle with slowing down—it’s inherent with ADD/ADHD brain.  Zipping from topic to topic or starting a ton of projects and unable to finish them, being interested for a few seconds—that makes the brain move mighty quickly, and with no context, it isn’t about results, it’s just movement.  There have also been a lot of reminders about how fast life moves and how we tend to not understand what we have until it’s gone—I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff while it’s here.  It’s part of why I changed careers—because I need to be more present and available for the good stuff in my life rather than dealing with utter nonsense.  There is too much good to get caught up in that crap any longer.  Plus constantly perceiving and interpreting interactions with people, finding meaning, finding who we are takes a lot of energy.  It’s a lot of work to harness the power that is given to us and mix it with what is here.  To learn how to work as a co-creator with Earth and live in peace and acceptance.  Letting go and trusting that all is well how it is and knowing the times we have to steer the ship versus let go is a challenge—but it all starts with appreciating the little things.  One day we all understand the little things were the big things all along, so don’t take it for granted.